LIKE

A child ruminates over things in the world that are like and unlike them.

Looking up from the page with an engaging smile, the brown-skinned narrator greets viewers as fellow humans and then, in a wandering train of thought, reflects on how we are different from most things—like a can of soup (“If you open up our lids, nothing good happens”)—but do have at least some similarities to, for instance, a mushroom or a hyena. This leads to ways in which people are distinctively alike, from wearing clothes to being embarrassed sometimes. And, all things considered, aren’t people more alike than different? In keeping with that insight, everyone in Espinosa’s bright retro illustrations is likewise individually distinct, from the young narrator’s parents (one is brown-skinned; the other is light-skinned) to each of the 15 diverse passersby in a climactic crowd scene, but at the same time recognizably human. “I am more like you than I am like most of the things on Earth,” the young observer concludes. “I’m glad.” For readers who come away trying to think of other traits that define us, Susan Verde’s even more searching I Am Human (2018), illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, makes a helpful follow-up. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A strong argument for the logic of inclusivity, founded on our having more in common than in conflict.